Coffee Shop
by writtenonwings
Summary: Angst abounds in an AU meet up of the brothers at Stanford, pre-series, pre-Jess - Rated T for Dean's mouth/brain and safety.


**A/N: 01/24/16**

Hello 2016, I hope that this'll be my first fic to leave up for the new year. I had previously uploaded a story on Jan. 6, but decided to take it down to erase every presence of a review/reviewer. I do these fics solely to give back to the fandom family that has always been there for me. If you feel the need to be a bully or negative in any way to me please know that I get enough of that irl and will take down offensive reviews. The user in question has been blocked to my page and it's taken me this long to get back into the swing of things. I did revise the story while I was off, not due to the reviewer (it was a personal attack not one having anything to do to the fic) but to hopefully reach more readers, and this is it. Haters will always hate but that flaws their character not mine. I hope 2016 has been going and continues to do well for you all and I hope it gets better on my end and I hope that all of this didn't disrupt you guys/my readers.

The title of this fic comes from the dozens of times my creative writing instructors and groups would force me (and everyone else) to put the characters in the coffee shop/casual date setting to see how they interact.

Also a very Happy Birthday to my favorite fictional character Dean Winchester!

 **DISCLAIMER: I own nothing; this is for fan purposes only.**

 _So much has changed_ , Dean muses from behind the steering wheel of Impala. Used to be it was the three of them, a family, versus the world in all its light and dark glory, now the streets of Palo Alto sped past his windows, the car feeling just too big for one. _But the change was good._ he reminded himself. _Sammy got out from that hard life he had never chosen, he'll be safe this way, it'll put his big brains to good use._ The smile that he forced upon his face was just a shade too sad though to hide his true feelings.

This city, so full of lights, wonders, people, and the experiences that he and his brother had been denied since childhood, it was mesmerizing. _Why wouldn't Sam want to be here, stay forever here? Everything was here. How could he compete with that?_ He was just a high school dropout, everything that belonged to his name fit in the old family car he drove, and the only money he ever earned was always gained through dishonest means. _He'll never want anything to do with me again. I'm just a reminder of a broken dysfunctional family he never agreed with._ Sam was Dean's definition of heaven, family, togetherness, but the opposite wasn't true and deep down he knew it.

 _Sammy was a gift, the brightest of all the night stars, he always deserved better, better than the rough life of hunting, I wish I could have given it to him, but I'm glad he found his happiness, even if it's out here. Compared to him I'm nothing, just a scarred up, dirty, out of place fool. I don't even know why I agreed to come._ He found his destination parking the car alongside the old red stone building fronting a retro coffee house that was sure to be organic and expensive. He got out stiffly as the movements pulled at the stitches holding him together from the last hunt, glad his layers covered up most of the new scars he'd gained since Sam had left. It was harder hunting alone, but it was something he wanted and earned the right to do. Sam would disagree if he saw the mess it made of him though.

He leaned slightly against Baby, closing his eyes with the thoughts of everything that he wished he could say to his brother if chick flick moments were to be dammed. _I miss you brother. I hope you found everything you wanted out here. … I know it's great and all here but is there maybe a small part of you in there that maybe missed me too?_ All words he knew he could never say aloud.

And he saw him. Now everything was right in the world, in his world, because Sam was there again, smiling, happy, and healthy. It was like he'd never left. Almost…

"You got taller." He manages to choke out in a laugh grabbing his sizeable brother in a tight embrace he wished he didn't have to let end.

"Yeah Dean, still growing too." Sam broke the contact "Glad you could make it."

 _Oh Sammy boy, for you I'd do anything._ "You look good man, college," he gestured up and down his tall muscled hunk of a brother, "it suits you."

"And you, you look the exact same, it's like I never left. Still hunting?"

"Oh Sammy you know the answer to that." he warned not wanting to start up a rant that would end in a fight. He just didn't have the energy for that today.

"But it doesn't have to be, you could join me, park the car for more than just a night, stay in one area for more than a month."

"Eh, it's just not me Sammy." he shrugged his shoulders and tried to ignore the downfallen look.

"Uh…Is it as great as you thought, you know, out here, California, college, the whole deal?"

"Yeah Dean it is, it's worth it, here is…here is home now." And Dean's heart sunk at those words.

"I've missed home." Dean relents, letting a wall down, sharing emotion between them praying for it to be reciprocated.

"What do you mean? You got home right here." he ran a finger adoringly across baby, "She's looking even better than I remember even."

"Yeah me and her we got a system, a wash after each hunt and a wax a week, … she's quiet though, emptier than she used to be. "

"I'm sure Dad'll be more than happy to fill up the silence for you though." his words blazed matching a newly lit fire in his eyes.

"Sam," he warned, "let's not get into that now."

"Yeah Dean, okay." he relented to his brother's tired form.

"It was nice to hear from you."

"Yeah, thanks for keeping the same number, Dad didn't, I was afraid I wouldn't get through but…"

"Sam I'm always gonna be there for you." and Dean pretended not to see the extra moisture gathering at his brother's eyes.

"Hey what about that coffee? That's what we planned to do right? I came a long way, this stuff better be great." They headed inside where Sam seemed to know everyone and everyone knew him. He got the drinks, a little froufrou with foam and sweetened like crazy but if it made Sam happy Dean wasn't gonna utter one word. It was good just to sit with his brother and have a cup of coffee, or soy latte as Sam had put it, it was like the old days before Sam graduated high school and left, it was all like a dream to Dean.

 _Yes_ , he thought _Sam belonged here;_ he belonged in the bright lights where he could shine and live the life he'd always wanted just as much as Dean didn't fit here, he knew he belonged in the darkness, ganking monsters in an endless war and to him, well, that was just fine.

When it was time to go he didn't want to, he wanted to stay in that moment forever but like a good little soldier he said his goodbyes, made Sam promise not to wait so long before ever returning a call again, and he left, with his brother in the sunshine and not even a backwards glance in Baby's rearview mirror.

 _I hope you find everything you want here Sammy, I hope you find yourself._

Watching the classic car drive off from the steps of the coffee shop Sam was hit with the weight of the things he would never say and swallowed the tears that once again threatened at his eyes.

 _I miss you Dean, living out here is great but it's missing one big thing, you._

His mind trapped in loneliness, he slowly picked up his lanky limbs and made his way back to the dorms of Stanford; to the family he'd chosen, knowing it was less than a poor substitute for the real deal.


End file.
